Google Quietly Launches Google Play Movie Rentals In Germany

Google today quietly rolled out movie rentals in Germany. German Google users have long been able to buy movies through the Play Movies store, but according to German blogger Carsten Knobloch, the rental feature only went live earlier today. So far, Google hasn’t officially announced this launch and the Google Play help page doesn’t acknowledge it either, but a growing number of German users now report that they are able to rent movies from the Play store on the web and on their Android phones.

Movie rentals in the German Play store cost between 2.99 Euro or 4.99 Euro, depending on the movie and whether users want to see the SD or HD version.

Just like in the U.S. German users will have up to 30 days to start watching a video after they rent it. Unlike in the U.S., though, where you can only continue to watch the movie for 24 hours, German users will have 48 hours to finish watching it after they hit the play button for the first time. At almost $5 for a movie rental, the prices in the German store are significantly higher than in the U.S., though.

Earlier today, Google also brought Hangouts on Air to the German market. One Google Play feature that is still missing in Germany is the music store. German users also can’t currently buy the Nexus 7. The launch of more content services, however, could foreshadow the impending Nexus 7 launch in Germany.